Artificial intelligence is quickly becoming woven into day-to-day life across demographics, and children are no exception. Business Partners reached out to Litsa Panayotopoulos and Peggy Pelonis—respectively the Chair and Vice Chair of AmCham Greece’s Education, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship Committee—to discuss the integration and role of AI in children’s education and what students, teachers, and schools need at every stage of the learning journey.
Artificial intelligence is entering education faster than schools can establish the norms for using it. Yet perhaps the most critical question is not simply whether students should use AI, but when, how, and for what purpose.
The answer, of course, cannot be the same for five- and fifteen-year-olds. As students mature, AI gradually shifts from a tool whose use is largely mediated by adults to one they navigate themselves, with increasing digital autonomy to match their developing judgment and accountability.
AmCham Greece’s Education, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship (EIE) Committee Chair Litsa Panayotopoulos, Senior Advisor at Purdue University and honorary doctor at the Agricultural University of Athens, and Vice Chair of the Ministry of Development’s Special Sectoral Scientific Council for Regional Development and Technology, and Vice Chair Peggy Pelonis, President of American Community Schools of Athens (ACS Athens), joined Business Partners in reflecting on that progression through the school years and considering what responsible, age-appropriate AI use might look like.
What place should AI have in early childhood and the first years of elementary school?
Peggy Pelonis: In early childhood, human relationships must come first. This is when young children develop foundational communication and social skills and core individual competencies. It is when they practice emotional regulation, develop resilience and intrinsic motivation, and expand their imagination. They need room and opportunities to do this—to explore new things, to try, fail, and try again, and to experience the distinct satisfaction of mastering a skill themselves.
Children at this age are still building the cognitive capacity required to navigate complex logic and understand the implications of ethical problemsolving. AI should, therefore, be used very sparingly and under strict adult supervision. Importantly, it is good practice to educate children from a very young age that AI is not a toy or a distraction, but a tool used for specific tasks and purposes. Developing healthy digital habits from a young age is always helpful. Technology should never replace real human interaction with caregivers or teachers, nor should it become an instant answer to boredom or difficulty.
As children move through elementary school, what should they understand before they can begin using AI more independently?
Litsa Panayotopoulos: Elementary school is when we should begin building genuine AI literacy. Children do not need to understand the technology in technical terms, but they do need to understand that an AI-generated answer is not automatically a correct answer. They need to develop their critical thinking skills and learn to ask: Where did this information come from? Does it make sense? Can I verify it? What might be missing?
Curiosity, healthy questioning, and problemsolving are fundamental skills; AI simply makes them more urgent
– Litsa Panayotopoulos
In order for children to use AI independently and efficiently, they must first learn to think alongside it—and, when necessary, challenge it. Curiosity, healthy questioning, and problemsolving are fundamental skills. AI simply makes them more urgent.
What changes in high school, when students begin using these tools much more autonomously?
Litsa Panayotopoulos: By the time they reach high school, students can use AI independently for research, exploration, comparison, and problemsolving, but independence must be coupled with responsibility. At this age, students should be expected to exercise rigorous judgment: verify sources, recognize limitations and bias, distinguish their own work from AI-assisted work, and be transparent about their methodology and use of AI.
Ultimately, the skill we want to cultivate in our young people is not prompting; it is judgment. Students must remain accountable for the work they submit and the conclusions they reach.
Clear expectations around technology, established over time, provide a reliable framework young people can return to
– Peggy Pelonis
Peggy Pelonis: And this is where those early habits previously developed become extremely important. Curiosity, experimentation, and boundary testing peak during adolescence, so clear expectations around technology, established over time, provide a reliable framework young people can return to.
At the same time, rules must be meaningful and consistent. If AI is used inappropriately, students should experience the consequences, but they should also have the opportunity to correct the mistake. Helping young people stay accountable for their actions and learn to take responsibility for these is a very important part of education.
What does all this mean for educators? How should they plan, supervise, and assess AI-assisted work?
Peggy Pelonis: Teachers cannot be left to navigate this individually. Schools must establish clear AI policies and the processes for implementing them, ensuring that all administrators, teachers, and staff have clear guidelines.
AI can be a tremendous tool in preparing lessons, designing experiments in laboratories, creating experiential activities, or developing assessments, allowing teachers to devote more time to direct teaching and creating opportunities for critical thinking skills to develop. But teachers also need training to familiarize themselves with AI tools, time to align these technologies with lessons, and opportunities to exchange ideas and best practices with colleagues. Monitoring is also essential, as it allows for feedback and fine-tuning.
What must schools do today to make all that possible?
Litsa Panayotopoulos: Leadership comes first. Schools need a clear vision of what they want AI to enable educationally. Then come staff training, appropriate infrastructure, equitable access, data protection and governance, as well as defined policies and procedures, clear assessment rules, and practical classroom guidance. In practice, this also requires three principles that I consider fundamental: shared understanding, structured dialogue, and synergy. School leadership, teachers, students, and families need a common frame of reference if AI is to become part of an educational culture rather than simply another layer of technology.
AI readiness in education is not simply a matter of access to AI tools. It means creating an environment in which teachers understand them, students use them responsibly, and parents know the principles guiding their use.
Decide what kind of learners you want to develop, and build your AI policy around that vision; technology will continue to evolve, but the educational purpose must remain clear
– Peggy Pelonis
If it came down to one priority, what would you advise schools to do first?
Peggy Pelonis: Decide what kind of learners you want to develop, and build your AI policy around that vision. Technology will continue to evolve, but the educational purpose must remain clear.
The lasting advantage will belong to those who can question, verify, evaluate, and discern when to trust the AI tool and when to trust their own thinking
– Litsa Panayotopoulos
Litsa Panayotopoulos: Teach students that access to powerful technology brings responsibility. There is also a simple lesson in the land: Every form of progress needs a foundation, care, and time. The same applies to education. Our foundation must be judgment, our care must be responsibility, and both need time to become part of the way young people think and act. The lasting advantage will belong to those who can question, verify, evaluate, and discern when to trust the AI tool and when to trust their own thinking.